Machine Literate

OUR REACH

Building AI literacy
for grades 5–12.

An idea worth building carefully. Free lessons that help young people test, question and make sense of AI.

In development · Not yet open to students

PLANNED PROGRAM SCOPE

Courses
2
Planned lessons
24
Grades
5–12
No cost to learners
Free

These are our plans, not student results. Courses are not yet open.

THE FOUNDER’S PILOT CLASS

Where it started.

In summer 2026, founder Aditya Jhalani designed and taught an eight-lesson AI-literacy course to 40 incoming ninth graders at Breakthrough New York. This class is where Machine Literate came from.

Using laptops and a projector, the class met for 30-minute sessions twice a week from July to August, with the final class on August 5. Aditya revised the lessons using Breakthrough staff feedback.

Lessons covered what AI is and isn’t; how data, training and bias shape it; prompting that keeps you thinking; AI as a tutor rather than a shortcut; hallucinations, fact-checking and bias audits; and writing, voice, privacy and academic integrity. The final project was a responsible AI playbook.

This was the founder’s pilot class, not the two 12-lesson courses now being developed for Machine Literate.

A student raises a hand during a classroom discussion beside the slide ‘Rewrite them. Then try to break someone else’s.’
The presenter points to the slide ‘The same request, twice.’ as students compare AI requests in the classroom.
A classroom discussion with the presenter beside the slide ‘The part you can’t memorise.’ and student backs in the foreground.

PARTNERS

The first chapter
starts together.

We don’t have partners yet. We’re looking for people and places to help shape our first pilots.

Schools

OPEN INVITATION

Founding pilot school

Help us plan a small classroom pilot for grades 5–12 when lessons are ready.

WHAT WE’D EXPLORE

A fit for your classroom

Discuss lesson timing, access needs and support before any pilot begins.

Educators

OPEN INVITATION

Founding educator collaborators

Review examples and tell us what would make the lessons useful in your teaching.

WHAT WE’D EXPLORE

Learning that fits real life

Help us think through clear instructions, age-appropriate ideas and practical classroom use.

Organizations

OPEN INVITATION

Founding community collaborators

Connect with us about AI literacy in libraries, community spaces and youth programs.

WHAT WE’D EXPLORE

Fewer barriers to learning

Share perspectives on access, local needs and responsible ways to reach future learners.

As we prepare our first pilots, we’d love to partner with you.

Become a pilot partner

MILESTONES

Where we are.

A record of the work so far, and what still needs to happen.

SUMMER 2026

The founder’s pilot class

Aditya taught 40 incoming ninth graders at Breakthrough New York across eight AI-literacy lessons. The final class was August 5, 2026.

INCORPORATED · OCT 2026

A starting point

Machine Literate, Inc. incorporated in New York on October 9, 2026.

PLANS AUTHORED

Two course plans

Two 12-lesson course plans authored. These are plans, not completed courses.

IN DEVELOPMENT

From plan to prototype

An interactive lesson prototype is in development.

PLANNED BEFORE LAUNCH

Accessibility review

Review access needs and test with people before lessons open.

HOW WE TEACH

Hands-on lessons.
Room for every learner.

Our design goals for an experience that is practical, approachable and fair.

Try it yourself

We’re designing interactions where learners change examples, test ideas and see what happens.

Curiosity, not code

No coding required. The goal is to understand the ideas behind AI, with plain language and everyday examples.

Access from the start

We aim to build for keyboard and screen-reader use, with clear instructions and time to think. Accessibility review is planned.

TWO COURSES, TWO ENTRY POINTS

Start where you are.

Neither course requires coding or completion of the other.

12 PLANNED LESSONS

5–8

Foundations

Grades 5–8

Explore how AI learns from examples, spot unreliable answers and practice making careful choices with evidence.

12 PLANNED LESSONS

9–12

Investigations

Grades 9–12

Test AI systems, compare the errors that matter and build a reasoned case for when to use a tool or leave it out.

Get a feel for a small learning interaction.

Try the demo

HOW WE’LL MEASURE LEARNING

Look at the work.
Listen to the learner.

We plan to evaluate learning with explanations and practical tasks, not just clicks or completion counts.

Explain a change
Use short before-and-after tasks to see whether students can explain how changing examples affects a model’s behavior.
Show the evidence
Review how students test claims, trace sources and describe the limits of what they found.
Make a considered choice
Look for reasons behind a student’s decision to use AI, seek human help or choose a non-AI approach.
Improve the experience
Gather feedback on clarity and accessibility from students, parents and educators when testing is ready. Any future evaluation will need appropriate consent and privacy safeguards.

COMING NEXT

Learn together.
Build from what we hear.

Planned activities for the new Machine Literate courses, not scheduled events. These courses are not yet open to students.

PLANNED · NOT YET SCHEDULED

Classroom pilot sessions

Small sessions to explore how lessons work in practice, after review and appropriate consent and privacy safeguards.

PLANNED · NOT YET SCHEDULED

Educator workshops

Time to try the lesson approach together, discuss classroom needs and help improve what comes next.